PLAID Cymru last night stood ready to do a political deal after placing a hung parliament at the centre of its election campaign.

The party suffered a disappointing election night as it flat-lined on three seats, falling short in the Labour-held target constituencies of Ynys Mon and Llanelli, and failing to retake Ceredigion from the Lib Dems.

Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “There is no doubt that our hopes of gaining additional seats were dashed during the campaign as a result of the portrayal of this election as a three-party contest in Wales by the UK media. We knew from the outset that the decision to exclude Plaid and the SNP from that important UK-wide media platform would put us at a disadvantage and that has proven to be the case.”